What is Sports Massage?
Sports massage is manual manipulation of the muscles and can be specifically designed for runners. This type massage considers the impact of running on specific joints, muscle groups, tendons, ligaments, and soft tissue groups. With sports massage there is less emphasis on massaging all the muscles with smooth stroking techniques and instead the muscles are worked with deeper techniques at specific running related locations. Sports massage is also a great recovery tool for runners.
Remedial massage focuses on setting a rhythm and using flowing strokes to apply pressure to muscles and is intended as a more targeted treatment for pain and injury. Remedial massage can still be relaxing, it is not always completely comfortable.
Is Sports Massage effective for Runners?
When you run you cause microtears in the muscles which leads to an inflammatory response. Sports massage can help increase blood flow to those areas which can improve your recovery.
Massage does not have to hurt to be beneficial explains Rosemarie Rotenberger, an orthopedic massage therapist in Mertztown, Pennsylvania. Massage has shown to be more beneficial for runners and athletics if your body is relaxed and is not bracing against the therapy. Sports Massage has been shown to be one of the best recovery techniques for reducing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and perceived fatigue, compared to cryotherapy, compression garments and according to meta-analysis published in The Journal Frontiers in Physiology.
Another meta-analysis which examined 29 studies published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine confirmed those findings regarding DOMS and found that sports massage for runners specifically does not actually improve performance in terms of sprinting, jumping, strength, endurance or fatigue. However there was a significant benefit to flexibility. Those improvements in flexibility is going to help your biomechanics when it comes to running loosening everything up so you can move the most efficiently next time you run.
There also solid evidence that regular massage can also help prevent injuries mobility by keeping muscles elastic and promoting mobility. When injuries do occur, massage is known to be a useful therapeutic treatment to help decrease pain and speed recovery. This is because we now know that (particularly in chronic injuries problems involving the back and neck) the pain experienced is often as a result of over-sensitized nerve tissue in the area. This pain tends to limit movement in the affected area, which both increases stiffness and prevents nerve tissue from ‘relearning’ normal pain-free movements, Massage can help break down scar tissue that has resulted from previous injuries or trauma. That being said, according to The International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork and the 2020 meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine massage was shown to be more effective if you believe it will be effective.
I’m a runner which massage should I choose?
Choose the best massage suited to you at the time. If you are a runner and need specific running muscles focused on and love to combine a massage with stretches I would choose a sports massage designed for runners. If you are not a runner and have a particular injury or tight area and love a deeper massage. I would choose remedial. If you just want to come in and switch off and relax without deep tissue I would choose relaxation.
It’s also important to note that everybody is different and responds differently to different types of massage, so there are no hard and fast rules. However, as a rough guide, a relaxation or aromatherapy massage is a good introduction for those without specific ailments. Remedial massage is also relaxing, but is more effective at treating tired or aching muscles, or chronic injury conditions. Sports massage is very specific and may not always be comfortable or ‘enjoyable’. It can be very effective however at treating a particular sports problem.
I hope this helped you understand sports massage and which massage to choose. I look forward to treating you soon!
Amy Daniel